Fixing Power Windows

I've had a small problem with my power windows: the motor could not lift the window all the way up. I had to help the motor a bit with my hand. While reading the Finnshark forum, I found an explanation that this is caused by the spring in the window mechanism. It needs to be preloaded by half circle to be powerful enough for the window. The annoying bit is that to do this, you need to pretty much disassemble the whole window mechanism...

Well, all I had was time so off to work. I began from the passenger side as it was still missing the window motor. I ordered one almost eight months ago but still had not received it. First I loosened the two nuts that held the window in place and lifted it out. Getting everything else out was simple job of unscrewing a few bolts.

Preloading the spring was also pretty easy. I turned the window regulator over until I could just put the spring in place. Then loaded it by using the arm as leverage. Putting the mechanism back in the door was a bit trickier now that the spring was loaded. I handled that by putting a zip tie around the arms. Now I could put the glass back in and finally tune all the settings so it moved correctly.

The driver side was the same deal. Only this time I also put the motor in. I tested it and now the window rose all the way up without problems. So the passenger side should also work when I get the new motor.